Answer:
While tattooing is against Jewish law, there is also a principle that
a person can repent up until the moment of death. The assumption is
that the person did teshuva (repented) before they died, and so there
should be no problem burying them in a Jewish cemetery. Of course, it
is probably appropriate to CYLAR* (appropriate rabbi) as well as
CYLAFD* (appropriate funeral director). There is a story that relates
to this (courtesy Micha Berger):
There was a ba'al teshuvah (returnee to Orthodoxy) who went to the
mikvah on erev Yom Kippur. Before discovering Judaism, he got a
tatoo on his upper arm. By the time of the story he was learning in
a yeshiva and quite embarassed of it. An older man saw how this
teen was standing with that arm toward the wall. And then "just
happened" to throw his towel over that shoulder. In short,
squiriming around to make the tatoo less noticable. The man walked
over to the boy and showed him his arm. "See I too have a tatoo. I
wear it with pride. It reminds me where I have been, and how far I
have come."
Note that deliberate tattooing is against Jewish law: "Do not lacerate
your flesh for the dead, do not tattoo yourselves." (Lev. 19:28).
Cutting of the flesh and tattooing was associated with idolatrous
usages among the Canaanites. Many traditional mortuaries and
cemeteries will not officiate at a funeral of one who is tattooed.
However, since this practice has become more and more common, even
among Jews, the policies may become more relaxed with time. If you
intend to be interred in a traditional Jewish cemetery, you should
contact them to verify their policies.
Do remember: today, tattoos are in; tomorrow they might not be. And
though there are ways to remove them, why risk the potential cost and
pain? Let the beauty of your soul be the example people will see and
not a "heart with Mom" inside. And take the money you would have spent
on this body art and give it to a noble cause.
*[CYL = "Consult your local"]

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